Fishing rod



Patented Aug. 9, 1932 para STATES PATENT OFFICE JACK T. WELCH, FVDOWAGIAC, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES HEDDONS VSONS, 0F

DOWAGIAC, MICHIGAN, ACORPORATION OF MICHIGAN FISHING ROD Application med April 24,

'are mounted on the rod and/or-to reinforce a.

sectional rod in theregion of its joints. Accordingly my invention has todo with such features alone or in combination, and Aalso with the method by .which-such ybands or sleeves are applied to the rod'.

In the use of ay jointed vfishing rod, Whether i the same be made of bamboo, Wood, metal, A.or

other material, it is commonly found that Vthe Weakest place where breakage ismost aptto occur is close to the ends of the errules which are applied tothe joined rod sections. :If the rodtsplits` or breaks, assometi-@Iiies-liap.-4 pens under stress, lthe iownels imisf'rtune will, in all probability., beaggravatedabyloss of the fish vwhose...stru'ggles v"have 0ccasioned thejmishap.- A sportsman,fi n.par, ticular, demands a highgrade frod'l having both a considerable i flexibilityyand adequate strength, and iseasily dissatisedfifedeieient in either respect. 1 yWith a. viewtostrengthening the rod in its weakest places, i. e., adjacent the ferrules at the oint's, .the sleeves produced and applied-in accordance withm'y invention may advantageously bense'd. Also, as will hereinafter bepointedoutiinv detail, ,the ,line guides carried 'on therodzfmay 'be anchored firmlyl in positionzby 'sleevesfofithis same general character. l* In the` accompanying drawing isfillustrated asuggestiveexempliication of my rfinventiom n- VAthe` manner fQllOWlIlg-I; i '1tf =f1 l Figure 1 is a view'in elevationof a portion of a jointed iishing rod showing the-connected ends oft-wo adjacent sections' thereof;

.Fi-g. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary-,section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1;; Y; .i i if; v Fig?) is a further enlarged-fragmentary longitudinal section showing the application 0f a reinforcing sleeve over, .the end of one ferrule and the adj acentportion of `the rod section; and C Fig. 4 is an enlarged view in elevation of the portion of the rod whereon is mounted a 1931. :Serial No. 532,393.

lineguide anchored. in position by two such sleeves each shown injfsection.

j The illustrated portions of aconventional jointed rod comprise sections A and B which may be` :nader-of bamboo, wood, metal, or

other suitablel material. Fitted over one-end ofthe rod section B is a ferrule FeXtending beyond the rod vend to form a socketwherein may be received sthe male ferrule Mvwhich is applied over the adjoining end of the rod section A. Each ferrule may be tightly secured toits associatedwfrodv section in v the usual way, as bycementiforla'cross pin l(not shown). Carried by either or both sections are lineguides G whichmay be/.of any conventional design. i

The ferrulehendswhich are remote from ea'ch other are.d esirably,y although not neces s arily,. tapered down toward; the surface of the; rod1seetionswhereon;v they are mounted.

Also, asis `,common practice-the .errules may baser-rated by the provision. of longitudinal slots 4 at. .their tapered ends,thereby forming relatively ileX-bilevtongues atftheseends of the ferrules. vItil`1-as.been found that vvsuch a cOnstructionftends to greater strength. in :the zone y of eachivferrule where breakageis most aptto occur.`

. Although: numerous. eirpedients have been adopted to strengthen the, rod inthe region i of `each ferrule end, aweaknessat such points still persists. u. Under stress,., the. rod` will Hex, as is intendedfbut at .the-iuncturefthe fergrules .withithe ends --of the rod; sections', this flexation is hampered. f-.To Strengthen there@ at such poats5iIaP-p1ytheret0 Sleeves S; ,which arez fitted closely [over ,the 1 rod and slid .into position V.over gthe .ends of lthe i fer,- .rulesft-hat are :mQuntd thereon-3 .i

Thesleeva Vconstruction which .I have found entirly :Suitable ,for Y the.. purposes .of this lirention is desrably made of- Some such material fas has a cellulose,.- basefpyralin, for example.: lAs'sh'own in the drawing, one' end of thesleeve is required to ride., over the end of the associated errul'e for a slight distance, and :in .doing soy it becomes firmly Vpositioned m place. flfdesired, circi-imierentiall windf ings .-.o'fsilk yor @there material,- such i as lcom monly surround i a fishing rod; may. be :ap-

plied over each sleeve at one point to assist in securing it in position. By so shaping the sleeve that one or both ends are tapered down close to the associated parts, as suggested in the drawing, it will present a smooth and ineconspicuous appearance.

There is a particular advantage resulting from the use of a reinforcing sleeve having a cellulose base with a rod made of bamboo, wood, or fibre, such as is commonly used by Sportsmen. Bamboo, in particular, is a material which tends to dry and shrink with age. A metallic ferrule applied to a rod section of such material tends in consequence to loosen its connection therewith as the rod shrinks. A sleeve of the kindspecified applied over both the rod and ferrule tends also to shrink with age, thereby maintaining its secure anchorage with each. Prior to securing the sleeve in place, it is desirable that it be expanded and made pliable. This I accomplish by a solution suitable for the purpose. @ne containing alcohol in a limited amount will be found satisfactory. A closely fitting sleeve applied in this condition to the rod will, upon becoming dry, con-v tract so as to adhere firmly to both the rod 'and ferrule. The sleeve so fitted is possessed of' Sufficient flexibility to give as required whenlthe rod is flexed, and so is admirably adapted as a joint reinforcement. Not only do I provide'a.reinforcement at the joint between a ferrule and rod section, but also a means for enhancing the secure connection of the ferrule to the rod.' The likelihood of rod breakage, when the present reinforcing sleeve is used, is considerably reduced, and this result is attained without in any degree impairing the flexibility of the rod.

In Fig. 4 I have suggested the 'use of such a sleeve for anchoring the linef'guides that are carried upon the rod. Suche, guide may consist of a wire frame formed with oppositely extended aligned feet 7 between which is an eye 8. The feet are flattened upon the base, as is usual, for resting squarely lupon the rod surface, and to secure the .guide against movement, I apply a pair of sleeves S, one over each foot -of the guide. The sleeves so fitted upon the rod are first enlarged and rendered pliable, as by dipping in a solution of the kind already noted, and while in this condition are slid to position upon the rod over the feet of the guides which are to be affixed thereto. Owing to the volatile kcharac-ter of the alcohol constituent in suc-h a solution, the sleeves will quickly dry and contract, thereby maintaining a tight hold upon both the guide feet and rod. If desired, thread windings 9 may be arranged over the sleeves, as indicated in Fig. 1.

The features of improvement characterizing this invention have -to do bolth with the application of self-shrinking sleeves to a rod, which perhaps isv self-shrinking also, to maintain a tight connection therewith and with selected fittings thereupon over a prolonged period, and with the conditioning of such sleeves for application to the rod in the manner already described; accordingly protection is herein sought in respect of such a construction, and the method by which it is attained, as set out in the claims following:

I claim:

1. The method of reinforcing a flexible shing rod formed of a material which shrinks with age which consists in applying circumferentially over a selected portion of the rod a tight fitting sleeve in a wet expanded pliable condition which, upon drying, contracts and hardens withal remaining fiexible, the sleeve materialhaving a tend'l ency further to shrink with age whereby it remains closely fitted upon the rod.

2. The method of securing a fitting upon a shrinkable fishing rod which consists in applying circumferentially upon the rod and` over a part of the fitting a pre-expanded tight fitting sleeve, in thereafter contracting the sleeve upon the rod and fitting, the sleeve being further shrinkable with age whereby to remain closely fitted upon the rod.

3. The method of securing a fitting upon a fishing rod which consists in applying circumferentially upon and over a part of the fitting a tight fitting sleeve of pyralin rendered expansible and pliable with an alc-ohol solution which, upon drying, contracts and hardens withal remaining flexible.

4. The method of securing a fitting upon a fishing r-od which consists in treating a sleeve normally hard withal flexible to render it temporarily pliable and expanded, and in applying the sleeve in such condition circumferentially and snugly upon the rod and over a part of the fitting thereupon prior to contraction of the sleeve by which its connection with the rod and fitting is tightened.

5. The method of securing a fitting upon a fishing rod which consists in treating a sleeve, of such size as will snugly embrace the rod and fitting, in a vmanner to temporarily expand the sleeve for easy application upon the rod, and then while in such expanded condition in moving the sleeve to position upon the rod and over part of the fitting thereupon preliminary to contraction of the sleeve by which the tightness of its connection with the rod and fitting is increased.

6. The method of reinforcing a fishing rod at its point of connection with a ferrule applied thereto which consists in fitting over adjoining portions of the rod and ferrule a sleeve having a cellulose base, and in rendering the sleeve plastic for adhesion to the surfaces covered thereby.

JACK T. VJELCH. 

